By setting the arrow on the date of the work’s publication, you can find out whether the work is in the public domain, whether it was registered when copyright registration was required before 1989, and where to find more information about tracking down copyright owners to request permission.

The Copyright Advisory Network site, where the tool is hosted, seems to be an amazing repository of news and analysis by the library community in the United States. According to the site, its purpose ‘is to encourage librarians to discuss copyright concerns and seek feedback and advice from fellow librarians and copyright specialists.’

It would be awesome to build a similar slider for South Africa. And since the ALA has licensed their tool under a CC BY-NC-SA license, anyone can do just that!

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Open SA! is a pilot project in collaboration with SA Rocks and the African Commons Project to enable people with great historical and cultural materials about South Africa to share them online for the benefit of all. Read more here!